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National Jewish Quitlines Boost Quit Rates, Save Money

More than 33,000 smokers in four states quit with help from National Jewish

Smoking-cessation quitlines operated by National Jewish helped more than 33,000 smokers in four states give up the deadly habit in the past year, saving millions of dollars in future healthcare costs.

Since December 2002, the quitline has helped almost 27,000 Colorado smokers give up tobacco.

The National Jewish quitlines provide individualized telephonic counseling to guide and assist people as they attempt to give up smoking. While only about three to five percent of smokers successfully quit on their own, 34 percent of participants in the National Jewish quitlines have reported being tobacco-free six months after starting the program. In Colorado, the quit rate has been even better, 36 percent.

The states of Colorado, Ohio, Idaho and Montana have contracted with National Jewish to provide free quitline services to residents of their states.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated that each smoker in the United Sates accounts for about $3,561 in health-related economic loses each year due to direct medical costs and lost productivity at work.

With 33,234 quitline participants converted from smokers to nonsmokers from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, that means potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in future savings, with savings piling up year after year. The Quitline programs cost a total of $14.3 million.